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Police and fire departments report staffing, equipment and Measure B payouts
Summary
Atwater police and CAL FIRE reported equipment purchases, staffing changes and Measure B expenditures: Police Chief Rich McEachin described new radios and handgun replacements; CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Randall detailed call volumes, equipment purchases and quarterly Measure B payments totaling more than $2.6 million across two quarters.
Police Chief Rich McEachin and CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Randall presented separate public-safety updates to the Measure B Oversight Committee on March 16.
Police Chief Rich McEachin said the department tracked non‑payroll expenditures for the last two quarters, including a monthly online reporting service whose monthly fee rose this year, lease continuation fees on police vehicles, testing of two portable radios tied to a Tango-Tango push-to-talk app on department phones, and one-time purchases. "We replaced all of our handguns," McEachin said, noting nationwide reliability concerns with the prior model and listing costs for new handguns, holsters and optics. He also said the department is authorized for 26 sworn officers and expected to be fully staffed within days, with 26 sworn to be in place on Thursday.
Chief McEachin answered questions about the Tango-Tango radios, explaining the phones have an app that enables push-to-talk communications when out of conventional radio coverage, and clarified that every officer has a department-issued cell phone with the app installed.
CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Randall reported station-level call volumes for 2025 and the current year, and said the Lucas automatic CPR device was used 27 times in 2025 with five patients surviving; it has been used twice so far in 2026. He outlined recent hires and vacancies (new firefighter and captain start dates and an open engine engineer position), equipment receipts and purchases, and noted that the type 1 engine is on schedule for December production. Randall also said the city paid Measure B funds to support Cal Fire agreements: $1,413,277.77 in one quarter and $1,219,195.56 in another.
On ambulance coverage, Randall said AMR no longer maintains a permanent post in the city area but uses a mobile status plan, moving posts to meet response‑time needs; he said AMR's regional director is open to evaluating resident posts based on response-time data.
These updates were informational; no formal procurement or budget actions were taken during the meeting. Committee members asked clarifying questions about vehicle and radio use, handgun replacements, and ambulance response patterns; staff said they will provide additional details if requested.
